RCHCA January 13, 1999 Meeting Minutes

Rock Creek Hills Citizens' Association
January 13, 1999 Meeting
Minutes

Meeting Called to order by Keith Emery, Association President at 7:45 PM

Old Business:

Treasurer’s report by Howard Morin:

Opening balance		$6,084.99
Deposits		$6,180.00
Total Cash		$12,264.99
Expenses
Beltway Study	$3,136.89
Brickwork/landscaping
McNeely Triangle	$879.10
Newsletters/postage	$2,091.04
Supplies/bank fees/misc.	$36.57
Community events	$639.66
Total Expenses		$6,783.26-
Ending Balance		$5,481.73
McNeely Triangle	$1,843.67
General Fund	$3,638.06

There followed discussion on the number of households which pay dues (approximately 1/3), and methods of encouraging dues payment. The discussion continued in the new business portion of the meeting.

Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report.

Vote: Accepted

Minutes: Approve minutes of the October 14, 1998 meeting.

Motion to approve the minutes.

Vote: Approved the minutes

Covenants: reported by Marilyn Emery

The issue with the fence on Calvend was resolved. (See minutes for October 14, 1998).
The issue with a fence on Wake and Hillridge was resolved.
The issue with a fence on Saul and Old Spring was resolved.

There is one new fence issue pending.

Transportation: John Robinson

The Beltway Noise Study was conducted May 22, 1998.

There were three monitoring points and a control point (the Emery’s backyard).
A 30-hour study was conducted instead of the 36-hour study resulting in a credit for 6 hours.
The Federal Highway Administration noise guidelines have 65-72 dba as acceptable with mitigation.

Location	Distance from the Beltway	Result
Campbell Drive	400 feet	Exceeded guideline 40% of the time
Raymoor	900 feet	Exceeded guideline 3-5% of the time
Hillridge	1600 feet	Did not exceed the guideline
Emery’s yard	2600 feet	Did not exceed the guideline

Conclusions:

With the exception of Campbell Drive, the guidelines are not being exceeded.
Widening of the Beltway is likely to cause problems.

Nominating Committee reported the candidates for 1999 proposed board are:

President: Shannon Reid Hamm

Vice President: Pablo Collins

Treasurer: Deanna Marcum

Secretary: Mike Baker

Topics of Discussion:

Open for additional nominees. None were received.

Motion to accept the proposed board.

Vote: Accepted

Motion that the members of the Rock Creek Hills Citizens Association serve as members of Rock Creek Hills Covenants, Inc.

Topics of Discussion:

Putting an additional burden on volunteers.
Ensure continuity in Rock Creek Hills Covenants, Inc. and the majority of work is actually performed via committee and not the board of Rock Creek Hills Covenants, Inc.
Methods of ensuring that all residents are aware of the covenants.

Vote: Accepted

New Business:

A formal thank you was extended to the outgoing board.

Postage and the newsletter are the second largest expense of the Association. The internet can be used to passively disseminate information to non-dues paying members.

The domain name www.rchca.org can be obtained for $70 for two years. An additional $17.50 per month would provide the association with an internet presence. Basic information to be included on the internet would be basic covenants, by-laws, and the constitution.

Motion to empower the board to establish a presence on the internet for Rock Creek Hills Citizens Association. The motion was amended to include a counter to determine usage.

Discussion:

The Association could accept donations from community residents and local businesses as a means of reducing costs.
The expenses for postage in the most recent report may be an aberration. There were two additional mailings.
Is there a benefit to non-internet users? No direct benefit to members that do not use the internet. However they will indirectly benefit from greater participation, more paying members.
Will there be less information available on paper? The directory contains the information. The pages on the internet will contain the calendar, and relevant links (i.e., the County Government).
A change to the bylaws may be required if the newsletter will eventually be sent only to dues paying members.
Will the web pages be accessible by both dues paying and non-dues paying members? Yes
Internet access is available at the Public Library.

Vote: In favor: Majority

Opposed: 2

Several car break-ins occurred in the neighborhood on January 11^th. Not all of the break-ins were reported. Please report any criminal activity to the police. The police reports are used as the basis of determining the number of officers assigned to an area.
Volunteers are needed for Committee Positions. Some of the committees are Community Police Liaison (Steve Stienberg); Health and Environment (Jackie Stevens); Covenants; and Transportation (John Robinson).
Future events:

April 17^thRock Creek Cleanup
May 22^ndBike Safety [editor's note date changed to May 15^th]

Gary Ditto will help fund the new Rock Creek Hills Citizens Association Directory. Please ensure that any changes are submitted to Sam Hoxie by the end of January.

US Postal Service: Sam Hoxie

9711 East Bexhill

Kensington, MD 20895

Email: samhoxie@erols.com

Any input to the newsletter should be submitted to Sam Hoxie six weeks before the next meeting. For the May newsletter, the input should be submitted by the start of April.

US Postal Service: Sam Hoxie

9711 East Bexhill

Kensington, MD 20895

Email: samhoxie@erols.com

The issue of rodent infestation was discussed. The discussion was based on a handout that was distributed by a resident of Rock Creek Hills to several other residents.

Motion to place the County’s guidelines on preventing rodent infestation in the newsletter.

Vote: In favor: Majority

Opposed: 1

Motion to adjourn

Vote: Accepted